"Trying VS Training"

Training Training and Tactics
1

How many of you have ever TRIED to play a sport, didn’t do so well and then did one of the following:

  1. Made fun of said game.
  2. Said that it wasn’t worth your time.
  3. Found an excuse to never play it again.

When you “TRY” to do something, you usually do it in private without anyone knowing. The reason why you do this is because if you fail at it, no one will know.

People that have gone out and received professional training in a sport do not say the above three comments. Why? They have made a commitment to it and will stick with it until they have mastered it.

So how many of you “TRY” to shoot? Meaning that you generally shoot alone, blow off shots that are missed or pulled (call them flyers) and convince yourself that your shooting is “good enough” for your “purposes?”

Background on me. My Grandfather was a Trooper. My Father worked as a guide in Canada and was a very experienced trapper, hunter, etc. He could hit whatever he aimed at. He was always taking apart guns and re-building them and knew just about everything there was about hunting based firearms.

This is the world I grew up in.

I then joined the Navy and got some more (basic) weapons training.

After getting out of the USN, I started to attend some shooting schools. This is when the shock hit. “What do you mean that everything I am doing is all wrong?”
What an eye opener and a bit disheartening to learn that everything I knew about grip, stance, trigger manipulation, sight alignment was basically incorrect.
So those of you that believe that since you grew up “hunting” that you know how to fight with a gun is basically dead wrong.

My argument to you folks that are on the fence about getting professional training is that you don’t know what you don’t know. Meaning that you are most likely doing yourself more harm than good every time you fire a round! Practicing a bad grip, stance, sight alignment and trigger manipulation is just making it harder for you to fix when you eventually DO get training.

The last thing to consider is that if you are carrying or planning to use a firearm to defend yourself and your loved ones you are nothing more than a liability without training. Wouldn’t it be nice to actually know how to use it???

Don’t just “try” to shoot, be TRAINED how to shoot!

C4

2

Great post Grant! I just got back from running Todd’s Fast and dot torture drill for an hour or so… Felt like a kid trying to learn to ride a bike again… Still cant break 6.5 seconds on the fast yet.:mad:

I have been doing a lot of rifle shooting as of late and neglecting my pistol work, and it really showed… If you don’t use it, you will lose it.

3

Thanks much.

This post hit me while sitting in Church (of all places). :slight_smile:

C4

4

Great thread that I’m sure a lot of people can relate to, including myself.

5

Another “Eureka!” moment during the sermon, eh?

My sister is the associate minister at our church. She sometimes gives me “that look” during the service, wondering exactly what I am paying attention to…

“I wonder…what if I tried the H-1 with the Bravo Company upper on that LMT lower with the BAD… that would be nice and light…”

:wink:

6

I get a lot “ah huh” moments in church. I hear the sermon twice every Sunday (as I work security). So if it doesn’t sink in the first time, I will get a second shot at it. :smiley:

C4

7

Well, it is our quiet time for reflection…:smiley:

8

Grant: I could not agree more and only wish everyone who owns a gun could have it read/preached to them. How many lives have been lost due to the lack of training.

I love this quote "“Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: You didn’t bring your gun; you didn’t train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by fear, helplessness, horror and shame at your moment of truth.” Lt Col Dave Grossman

Great post Grant.

9

“Trying vs. Training” could be a very deep theological conversation as well.

10

One of the best things one can get out of any formal training is feedback from those who can observe you, pick up on your bad habits, and correct said habits. It is only then will you realize that you belong to the category: UNCONSCIOUS-INCOMPETENT. This will allow you to make adjustments and start your journey to becoming more COMPETENT.

Those who think that they do not need any such training are doomed to belong to INCOMPETENT category (whether conscious or unconscious). It is amazing just how many individuals out there belong to this category. Even more amazing is just how many of them carry or use a gun. :rolleyes:

11

I’ve found that a lot of the time I’m the opposite. Always try to pick up on what I need to fix, improve, smooth out, etc. Generally, it’s never gear related.

I was sitting in a wilderness survival lecture a while back & the instructor asked “Are you really as good as you think you are?” That really put the above mindset into perspective for me. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing to be solid, confident & actually better than you think you are, instead of the other way around?

12

I couldn’t possibly be better than I think I am!
But I could certainly be better…

13

How right you are. Was watching a local SWAT team train. No one was running the show and assisting the newer guys with all their mistakes. So all they were doing was creating bad muscle memory and incompetence.

C4

14

I was just trying to explain this exact same principle to a friend of mine the other day.

He doesnt know what he doesnt know.

He runs about 150rds of 9mm through his p226 every 3 weeks and pokes his chest out after each range secession. I asked him about taking a pistol class with me and he gave me a plethora of asinine responses such as " i just shot the x out of that target, we can practice drills on our own, i know what im going to do when shit goes down…"

I responded with " have you ever practiced shooting and moving? transitioning from target to target? reloading? gear placement…etc…"(basically things covered in an introductory pistol course)

After getting a few more asinine responses I simply changed the subject.

Im honestly worried about his safety considering the fact that he conceal carries his sig everyday and if a situation ever arose he would have nothing to fall back on.

How can I convince him to seek formal training?

15

Damn good thread Grant.

16

As long as you’re at least as good as you think you are you’re, well, good.

We could all be better.

17

This is where ego prohibits most from learning… The funny part is those are always the guys in the rear of the short bus during classes…

I probably shouldn’t talk since I will more than likely be in the last row or two of the bus at Hackathorn in March.:smiley: But then again, I would rather be in the back of the bus, at Hackathorn than no Hackathorn at all…

I am always struck by how many peoples ego prevents them from learning…

18

“To try, is to fail” and never to succeed. I actually have only realized this recently, but can now see this through-out my life.
Not to geek it out, but Yoda had it best, “No. Try not. Do… or do not. There is no try.”

19

I would not replace knowing that one needs training on a 2ft tall fictional Zen-Master from Hollywood.

Sometimes we are so full we have difficulty learning.

Here’s a story about a real Zen master:

[i]Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!”

“Like this cup,” Nan-in said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”
[/i]

So when we train our mind should be open. If your mind is not open how are you learning?

20

Thanks much.

C4